


Phobia #2 Thunderstorms

by IceboundEmu



Series: Lovelink Phobia Series [2]
Category: LoveLink (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Phobias, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:40:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27825415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceboundEmu/pseuds/IceboundEmu
Summary: Part 2 of the phobia series.Charlie isn't a fan of a certain weather phenomenon.  The other two deal with it.
Relationships: Zayn Kassab/Jake Gonzales
Series: Lovelink Phobia Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2034190
Kudos: 6





	Phobia #2 Thunderstorms

**Author's Note:**

> Following on from my first post it's the turn of the would be movie directors.

It began to rain just as Zayn pulled into the parking lot causing him to sprint to the covered entrance of the flats to avoid the worst of the deluge.

He took the stairs to the flat, not trusting the lift which was temperamental on good days and prone to stopping between floors as it felt like it. The flat he shared was only on the third floor, so it was no great hardship, and as he reached his floor the first clap of thunder sounded overhead, and the rain increased in intensity.

A storm, well, that was the evening written off, at least. He opened the front door to find Jake sitting on the sofa, hugging what at a first glance just appeared to be a duvet, but then he realised their youngest flatmate, Charlie was hiding underneath. Jake was running a soothing hand over Charlie’s back as the younger blond shivered and squeaked every time the thunder sounded overhead. He was oblivious to the flashes of lightning; he’d screwed his brown eyes shut and pillowed his face into Jake’s chest.

Not that Jake seemed to be bothered in the slightest. His companion was the self-appointed mother of their little group and cherished any opportunity to baby Charlie. Though there was something about Charlie that brought out the protective instinct in most people he met, still adorably naïve compared to the world-weary attitude Zayn suspected he and Jake exuded. That could just be the two year difference in their ages, Charlie was only in his first year of college and hadn’t been ground down by the realities of student living, Jake and him were in their last year, struggling to raise the funds to push through their thesis work to something nearing completion.

This wasn’t their first experience of Charlie’s astraphobia, the first indication something was wrong had occurred during a simulated storm on one of the sets. At the first flash of lightning Charlie had screamed and dropped the equipment he’d been holding, thankfully not one of the cameras, before running from the set as fast as his legs would carry him. When they’d finally managed to track him down, he’d refused to talk about it, and they’d written it off as a one-off incident, that he’d been caught off guard and taken fright.

That had lasted till the first actual storm whilst they’d all been staying at the flat. By that point Charlie had moved in with them, he spent so much time at the flat it made sense for him to save on rental costs by taking the spare room. If he’d ever wondered how a two-bedroom flat could have a spare room with two residents already in situ he’d never asked. Nor had he seemed bothered when he’d climbed between them in the bed, Jake and Zayn shared to hide from the storm raging overhead.

Jake had seemed amused at the intrusion, encouraging Charlie to settle down and snuggle in, regarding Zayn’s response with affection as he gave a token protest to the cuckoo in their nest before offering the comfort of his own body heat against Charlie’s exposed back. He’d stayed awake long after the other two had surrendered to the pull of sleep, listening to the storm wind itself down and keeping an eye out for any signs the noise was disturbing his two companions. He must have slept at some point, because his next memory was of being woken by a camera flash and a wailed protest from Charlie, to find Jake had hopped out of bed to get a photo of the two of them cuddled together.

“How did your shift go?”

At Jake’s question Zayn snapped out of his reverie, suddenly aware he’d been standing in place staring at nothing. His boyfriend’s amused expression hinted he knew the memories Zayn had been reliving, but that could just be a symptom of his tired mind.

“Nightmare. The Wicked Witch of the West wouldn’t let me go early even with the storm warning; she was convinced people would still want to come out for coffee. It’s been dead since about two o’clock this afternoon.”

Jake shrugged, shifting Charlie into a slightly more comfortable position, before resuming his back rub.

“So, she paid you to do nothing.”

Somehow it didn’t seem so bad when Jake put it that way, though Zayn didn’t doubt he’d pay for it at a later date. He held up a bag triumphantly.

“Even better, got free food because there were leftovers.”

He’d made sure he’d snagged their favourite sandwiches before the other staff had piled in, technically speaking he shouldn’t have taken anything for Charlie or Jake as they weren’t on the rota for the week (again because of the foul temper of their mutual manager) but no one on shift would drop him in it. The food was written off, the only other place it would have ended up was in the bin. He’d also made sure to grab some chocolate cake, knowing that their youngest companion would leap at the prospect of his favourite sweet treat.

It was at that moment the power cut out and the room was plunged into darkness, lit only by the occasional lightning flash. From his spot on the sofa Jake sighed, before reaching for his phone and activating the torch function. From the light he cast Zayn dropped the bag onto the coffee table before making his way to the fireplace and lighting the candles there.

“You laughed at me when I brought candles.”

Jake sounded insufferably smug and Zayn resisted the urge to roll his eyes at him, crossing the room to draw the curtains closed. Two could play at that game.

“You laughed when I brought a camping stove. Guess you won’t want a hot drink tonight?”

“Got me there. I guess we both make surprisingly inspired purchases?”

Zayn settled on the sofa, hooking an arm under Charlie to lift him off Jake and into a more upright position much to the younger’s displeasure. Charlie regarded him sulkily, until the next clap of thunder sounded overhead, and Zayn found himself with his arms full of trembling teen.

“Poor Chuckles.”

Charlie screwed up his nose at the hated nickname but didn’t protest when Zayn drew the duvet round them both to form a protective, warm bubble.

“What is it with you and storms anyway?”

Zayn was sure he already knew what Charlie’s response would be, he’d refused to be drawn into any sort of conversation on it, even when they’d shared their own phobias with him. Zayn was Claustrophobic, a result of getting trapped in a cupboard whilst playing hide and seek when younger. Jake had a fear of injections, Trypanophobia, which he’d had to admit when he’d had to get a tetanus jab after an accident on set.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Zayn sighed, at least he’d tried. He frowned as the tone of Charlie’s previous comment registered in his mind.

“Are you falling asleep on me?”

“No…”

It didn’t look like he’d be getting his sandwich anytime soon, Zayn sighed and settled back as the deadweight that was the sleepy Charlie settled on his chest.

Just in time to catch the flash of a camera and the grin on Jake’s face as he immortalized the moment in film.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure why I have these three in my head as a functioning family unit, But Zayn is Dad, Jake is the Mum of the group and Charlie (being the youngest) is the spoilt baby. 
> 
> Expect more from these three if I get round to writing it.


End file.
